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Oracle Solaris vs SUSE Linux Enterprise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 3, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.8
Oracle Solaris enhances ROI with integration, ease of use, troubleshooting efficiencies, despite concerns about costs and limited feature benefits.
Sentiment score
1.0
SUSE Linux Enterprise provides cost-effective solutions, offering a 70% better return than RHEL, especially in SAP deployments.
In terms of ROI, there have been performance improvements because Oracle Solaris is lighter.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.2
Oracle Solaris support is reliable with 24/7 service, though some users find self-resolution faster than official assistance.
Sentiment score
1.0
Users value forums for support and find SUSE Linux Enterprise's technical support responsive and satisfactory despite some documentation challenges.
The technical support by Oracle is good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Oracle Solaris offers robust scalability and adaptability, excelling in both vertical and horizontal scaling for large enterprises.
Sentiment score
6.8
SUSE Linux Enterprise is renowned for its scalability, flexibility, and reliable performance, supporting diverse environments and industries effectively.
Regarding vertical scalability, Oracle Solaris is probably one of the most scalable operating systems in the industry.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Oracle Solaris is renowned for its high stability, reliable security, and minimal crash occurrences compared to other operating systems.
Sentiment score
7.8
SUSE Linux Enterprise is praised for its stability, reliability, and consistent performance, with minor glitches in specific environments.
 

Room For Improvement

Oracle Solaris users seek better compatibility, modernization, open-source support, and enhanced documentation, with improved interfaces akin to Linux.
Users seek improved SUSE Linux Enterprise updates, security, UI, automation, documentation, integration, pricing, and community-driven features like Red Hat.
Oracle is going to discontinue it, so I do not think any improvement is possible in Oracle Solaris.
Oracle Solaris needs to improve its compatibility with office tools like Excel.
The software manager was different, making it challenging to install certain applications.
The license we subscribed to should carry over within the same instance family.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find Oracle Solaris competitive yet costly, valuing integration and security but noting complex licensing and setup expenses.
SUSE Linux Enterprise offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing and free tiers, but opinions vary on affordability.
I find the pricing of Oracle Solaris to be affordable compared to competitors like Windows.
Upgrading an instance results in overlapping or double subscription fees.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle Solaris excels in virtualization, security, and performance with features like Zones and ZFS, offering reliable cloud readiness.
SUSE Linux Enterprise excels in management, security, and support, with standout features like YaST, Ansible, and BTRFS praised by users.
The operating system is lightweight, which makes it easier to use on an average computer compared to systems like Windows.
Additionally, regarding security, you do not have to implement any antivirus software.
SUSE Linux had a clean user interface, which was a valuable feature for me.
It has a stable and reliable OS.
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle Solaris
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Oracle Solaris is 1.9%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 6.6%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SUSE Linux Enterprise6.6%
Oracle Solaris1.9%
Other91.5%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Prabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience robust performance and security for large organizations
For big organizations who look for performance, better security, and better manageability, I usually recommend Oracle Solaris. It is not recommended for smaller organizations because you need a specialized person to manage this operating system. Linux can be managed by anybody. However, maintaining Oracle Solaris, creating clusters, and tuning at the OS level needs a specialized resource. Smaller organizations may not have those resources, or it will be too costly for them to maintain. Everybody is moving towards the cloud. I am not sure how they are going to do that because it is going to be a dead product already compared to its competitors. I would recommend Oracle Linux instead of Oracle Solaris now. On a scale of 1-10, I rate Oracle Solaris a 9.
Naveen Venugopal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient IT management with crucial automatic updates but needs developer-friendly configuration
Sometimes it is a bit of work for developers to change the configurations. Some kernels will not fit with some packages, and this aspect could be improved. Furthermore, the system's rigidity when updating packages and services needs improvement. Additionally, there should be more loosely bound functionalities to improve developer experience.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?
When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...
What do you like most about Oracle Solaris?
We use the solution as an internal operating system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Solaris?
I find the pricing of Oracle Solaris to be affordable compared to competitors like Windows.
What do you like most about SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
I used the open-source version, so there were no setup costs.
What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu. The software manager was different, making it challenging to install certain applications. Additionally, I encounter...
 

Also Known As

Solaris 11, Solaris
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Siemens, IVV
Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE,  SAP SE,  Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys,  Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Solaris vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.